What spices or herbs do you associate with your country?
August 10, 2025
For me in Sweden:
It’s a mix between:
Dill
Cinnamon
Cardamom
And in winter, saffron
46 comments
Cloves. We put it in everything. Cheese, sausage, stew, cookies. We generally use a lot of spice superficially, like grating nutmeg over beans or cauliflower, or putting cumin or mustard seeds in cheese. With our colonial and frugal heritage, it was considered a subtle way of showing off wealth, and over time that got confused for cuisine.
And we also put Speculaaskruiden, a spice mix, in everything, which is our Pumpkin spice except better.
I’m Italian and I associate basil, mint, parsley, rosemary the most with Italy.
The idea that Brits don’t season their food is nonsense. Popular spices include mustard, black pepper and horseradish. Herbs include mint, sage, parsley and rosemary.
In the UK, probably parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. But that might just be because of the song.
Sigh…okay so cumin powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, cilantro in powder ofc again lol, ginger garlic in paste it’s not a herb or spice tho lol. And lastly garam masala I have no way to it in English. The turmeric is what I would primarily associate my country with though lol
I’d say parsley, you sprinkle it on everything here.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are the main ones (thanks Simon & Garfunkel). Lots of cinnamon and nutmeg in old recipes too and cloves.
Probably parsley, lovage, bay leaf, dill, and black pepper. I feel like these are used in a lot in traditional dishes.
Provençal herbs blend: savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano. It can be used for pretty much any dish and will 100% elevate it when used with onions/shallots, garlic and bay leaves. Bonus point if the dish has been left over night, the herbs will have infused it properly to make it even better.
Lavender is also a staple, as well as rose for fancy pastries.
For Finland I would say allspice. It’s called spice pepper or seasoning pepper in Finnish and at least my grandma puts it everywhere just like pepper. Another one is dill.
Parsley, brown Maggi sauce, Aromat (mix with salt, msg and herbs), nutmeg in potato dishes, cloves, bacon cubes, paprika powder, “curry” powder, dill on fish.
We use a lot of sage, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and such too, but these code the dish “mediterranean” or other.
Trigonella caerulea. It is basicaly used only in one specific whey based cheese. But the cheese is so iconic, that it defines the country. For my clueless fellow country boys and girls, I am talking about Zigerklee and Schabziger.
[removed]
Living in Czech Republic as an immigrant, a lot of Caraway and dill.
The ones that come to my mind are sweet and spicy paprika, bay leaf, and vegetable based seasoning like Croatian Vegeta.
Edit: Horseradish as well, if that counts as spice.
Caraway, wild garlic and tarragon are things that I associate with the cuisine of my grandmother more than other herbs.
The very first thing that came to my mind as an Italian is oregano, but there are many others like basil, mint, bay leaves, marjoram, saffron, nutmeg…
To my knowledge, “Waldmeister”, a herb transferred into enjoyable, sweeter things like in jelly desserts, kid’s sweets, Schnaps etc, and also “Brause”( which seems to be also quite unique) seems to be a thing from german speaking regions ( The DACH region – Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
Parlsey (ew), chives, rosemary, those three are probably the biggest.
It’s heavily used in many different pastries, baked goods and other foods.
Czechia is also the biggest poppy seed producer in the world, producing nearly 30 000 tons in 2024.
Foreigners are often confused by us using it, because they associate it with drugs. Which obviously is not the case when you eat makový koláč.
Czechia: cumin, pepper, bay leaf, allspice, parsley, marjoram. Also cinnamon and clove (sweet dishes).
Portugal:
– cinnamon
– cummin
– coriander (seeds)
– paprika
– lemon
– salt, lots of it
I live near a mountain that is full of oregano plants and people are making oregano each year. it is so fresh/dried and pure that it keeps the smell and taste for years. also thyme is everywhere.
Traditionally rural Irish cuisine has never used any “normal” herbs. Up until the 60s in Ireland the most common way to cook dinner was a big pot or pan over open fire.
Traditional cooking herds of Ireland are wild garlic, nettles, sorrel, duilisc (if you lived on the coast) and fennel. Under spices, if you could call salt a spice then that’s the only one from memory.
In modern Ireland, we use it all. Parsley, dill, coriander, thyme ect ect.
Garden cress, parsley for sure.
An honorable mention for lemon balm which grows crazy well around Austria, but it’s a bit of a neglected herb nowadays. The usage of herbs was looked down on over the centuries and the knowledge was also persecuted.
For Lithuania it’s Salt, Pepper, Garlic, horseradish, caeaway seeds and most importantly – dill.
Caraway in everything. Marjoram also very popular. Cinnamon in sweet dishes.
(edited, not cumin)
In Finland we use dill, cinnamon and cardamon as well, they are probably the most popular spices. However if there is one spice that could be associated to Finland it’s [caraway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caraway)
> Finland supplies about **28% (2011) of the world’s caraway production** from some 1500 farms, the high output occurring possibly from its favorable climate and latitudes, which ensure long summer hours of sunlight.
It’s not that we consume caraway especially lot, more like it’s necessary in certain foods but that’s about it.
You forgot allspice, a classic in the swedish cuisine.
Chervil is quite common in Belgium but rare in other countries. Something very Belgian is chervil soup with meatballs.
Netherlands: sambal (Indonesian chili sauce, more of a condiment but it can be used as a spice), speculaas, and maybe peanuts if that’s applicable.
Parsley, chives, Caraway seeds, bay leaf, lovage, mustard, nutmeg, cloves, in the north I would add cinnamon, dill and capers,
Dill is the biggest one, both fresh and dried. Parsley and coriander for fresh herbs, blackcurrant and horseradish for canning herbs, laurel (bay leaf) for soups.
In Lithuania it’s dill, onion, parsley, also mushrooms. Most popular ones are boletus and chanterelle, they can be eaten on their own but a lot of people use them just to add flavour, so I suppose they count as seasoning?
Saffron, bay leaves, black pepper, garlic, onion, cumin, parsley, spicy and sweet pimentón (paprika but not quite the same) and guindillas (like chillis)
Juniper, bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom are the first that comes to mind
Paprika, black pepper, onions, garlic, parsley, caraway, dill, bayleaf
For Poland – dill and marjoram. I’ve never seem any western, asian or any other recipe that uses majoram, except in polish dishes.
Italy: rosemary, oregano, sage, peppercorn, different varieties of chili, and less common but still used in some recipes, nutmeg.
For me in Sweden: Other than salt and pepper.
Dill
Thyme
Allspice
Juniper
Bay leaf
Cinnamon, Cardamom and Saffron isn’t anything I use.
Ukraine is really heavy on dill, as well as parsley, horseradish and bay leaves regarding herbs. As for spices it would be black pepper, allspice, mustard and caraway. Also if we are talking about preserving food, you could add currant leaves, cherry leaves and amaranth leaves, as well as horseradish leaves and dill seeds
– Coriander
– Parsley
– Bay leaves
– Rosemary
– Pepper
– Colorau
– Cinnamon
I see cloves as the answer for the Netherlands, but I would argue not for a single spice but for the spice mix that is sometimes called “speculaaskruiden” or “koekkruiden”.
It’s a mix of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg. It can also contain coriander and black pepper.
This mix or a slight variation of it is used in a lot of typical Dutch baked goods.
For Croatia, and I’m guessing most of ex-yu countries – black pepper, paprika and Vegeta. I don’t know that my mother ever uses anything else.
46 comments
Cloves. We put it in everything. Cheese, sausage, stew, cookies. We generally use a lot of spice superficially, like grating nutmeg over beans or cauliflower, or putting cumin or mustard seeds in cheese. With our colonial and frugal heritage, it was considered a subtle way of showing off wealth, and over time that got confused for cuisine.
And we also put Speculaaskruiden, a spice mix, in everything, which is our Pumpkin spice except better.
I’m Italian and I associate basil, mint, parsley, rosemary the most with Italy.
The idea that Brits don’t season their food is nonsense. Popular spices include mustard, black pepper and horseradish. Herbs include mint, sage, parsley and rosemary.
In the UK, probably parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. But that might just be because of the song.
Sigh…okay so cumin powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, cilantro in powder ofc again lol, ginger garlic in paste it’s not a herb or spice tho lol. And lastly garam masala I have no way to it in English. The turmeric is what I would primarily associate my country with though lol
I’d say parsley, you sprinkle it on everything here.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are the main ones (thanks Simon & Garfunkel). Lots of cinnamon and nutmeg in old recipes too and cloves.
Probably parsley, lovage, bay leaf, dill, and black pepper. I feel like these are used in a lot in traditional dishes.
Provençal herbs blend: savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano. It can be used for pretty much any dish and will 100% elevate it when used with onions/shallots, garlic and bay leaves. Bonus point if the dish has been left over night, the herbs will have infused it properly to make it even better.
Lavender is also a staple, as well as rose for fancy pastries.
For Finland I would say allspice. It’s called spice pepper or seasoning pepper in Finnish and at least my grandma puts it everywhere just like pepper. Another one is dill.
Parsley, brown Maggi sauce, Aromat (mix with salt, msg and herbs), nutmeg in potato dishes, cloves, bacon cubes, paprika powder, “curry” powder, dill on fish.
We use a lot of sage, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and such too, but these code the dish “mediterranean” or other.
Trigonella caerulea. It is basicaly used only in one specific whey based cheese. But the cheese is so iconic, that it defines the country. For my clueless fellow country boys and girls, I am talking about Zigerklee and Schabziger.
[removed]
Living in Czech Republic as an immigrant, a lot of Caraway and dill.
The ones that come to my mind are sweet and spicy paprika, bay leaf, and vegetable based seasoning like Croatian Vegeta.
Edit: Horseradish as well, if that counts as spice.
Caraway, wild garlic and tarragon are things that I associate with the cuisine of my grandmother more than other herbs.
🇭🇺 paprika, caraway, dill, parsley, marjoram, garlic, horseradish
The very first thing that came to my mind as an Italian is oregano, but there are many others like basil, mint, bay leaves, marjoram, saffron, nutmeg…
To my knowledge, “Waldmeister”, a herb transferred into enjoyable, sweeter things like in jelly desserts, kid’s sweets, Schnaps etc, and also “Brause”( which seems to be also quite unique) seems to be a thing from german speaking regions ( The DACH region – Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
Parlsey (ew), chives, rosemary, those three are probably the biggest.
Poland: dill, parsley, marjoram, caraway, garlic, horseradish
Poppy seeds.
It’s heavily used in many different pastries, baked goods and other foods.
Czechia is also the biggest poppy seed producer in the world, producing nearly 30 000 tons in 2024.
Foreigners are often confused by us using it, because they associate it with drugs. Which obviously is not the case when you eat makový koláč.
Czechia: cumin, pepper, bay leaf, allspice, parsley, marjoram. Also cinnamon and clove (sweet dishes).
Portugal:
– cinnamon
– cummin
– coriander (seeds)
– paprika
– lemon
– salt, lots of it
I live near a mountain that is full of oregano plants and people are making oregano each year. it is so fresh/dried and pure that it keeps the smell and taste for years. also thyme is everywhere.
Traditionally rural Irish cuisine has never used any “normal” herbs. Up until the 60s in Ireland the most common way to cook dinner was a big pot or pan over open fire.
Traditional cooking herds of Ireland are wild garlic, nettles, sorrel, duilisc (if you lived on the coast) and fennel. Under spices, if you could call salt a spice then that’s the only one from memory.
In modern Ireland, we use it all. Parsley, dill, coriander, thyme ect ect.
Garden cress, parsley for sure.
An honorable mention for lemon balm which grows crazy well around Austria, but it’s a bit of a neglected herb nowadays. The usage of herbs was looked down on over the centuries and the knowledge was also persecuted.
For Lithuania it’s Salt, Pepper, Garlic, horseradish, caeaway seeds and most importantly – dill.
Caraway in everything. Marjoram also very popular. Cinnamon in sweet dishes.
(edited, not cumin)
In Finland we use dill, cinnamon and cardamon as well, they are probably the most popular spices. However if there is one spice that could be associated to Finland it’s [caraway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caraway)
> Finland supplies about **28% (2011) of the world’s caraway production** from some 1500 farms, the high output occurring possibly from its favorable climate and latitudes, which ensure long summer hours of sunlight.
It’s not that we consume caraway especially lot, more like it’s necessary in certain foods but that’s about it.
You forgot allspice, a classic in the swedish cuisine.
Chervil is quite common in Belgium but rare in other countries. Something very Belgian is chervil soup with meatballs.
Netherlands: sambal (Indonesian chili sauce, more of a condiment but it can be used as a spice), speculaas, and maybe peanuts if that’s applicable.
Parsley, chives, Caraway seeds, bay leaf, lovage, mustard, nutmeg, cloves, in the north I would add cinnamon, dill and capers,
Dill is the biggest one, both fresh and dried. Parsley and coriander for fresh herbs, blackcurrant and horseradish for canning herbs, laurel (bay leaf) for soups.
In Lithuania it’s dill, onion, parsley, also mushrooms. Most popular ones are boletus and chanterelle, they can be eaten on their own but a lot of people use them just to add flavour, so I suppose they count as seasoning?
We have chips with chanterelle flavour https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/739cxgjxrk7.PNG
Saffron, bay leaves, black pepper, garlic, onion, cumin, parsley, spicy and sweet pimentón (paprika but not quite the same) and guindillas (like chillis)
Juniper, bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom are the first that comes to mind
Paprika, black pepper, onions, garlic, parsley, caraway, dill, bayleaf
For Poland – dill and marjoram. I’ve never seem any western, asian or any other recipe that uses majoram, except in polish dishes.
Italy: rosemary, oregano, sage, peppercorn, different varieties of chili, and less common but still used in some recipes, nutmeg.
For me in Sweden: Other than salt and pepper.
Dill
Thyme
Allspice
Juniper
Bay leaf
Cinnamon, Cardamom and Saffron isn’t anything I use.
Ukraine is really heavy on dill, as well as parsley, horseradish and bay leaves regarding herbs. As for spices it would be black pepper, allspice, mustard and caraway. Also if we are talking about preserving food, you could add currant leaves, cherry leaves and amaranth leaves, as well as horseradish leaves and dill seeds
– Coriander
– Parsley
– Bay leaves
– Rosemary
– Pepper
– Colorau
– Cinnamon
I see cloves as the answer for the Netherlands, but I would argue not for a single spice but for the spice mix that is sometimes called “speculaaskruiden” or “koekkruiden”.
It’s a mix of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg. It can also contain coriander and black pepper.
This mix or a slight variation of it is used in a lot of typical Dutch baked goods.
For Croatia, and I’m guessing most of ex-yu countries – black pepper, paprika and Vegeta. I don’t know that my mother ever uses anything else.